Jury Selection Begins in Dontae Morris Trial

TAMPA BAY TIMES

Published: Monday, March 4, 2013 at 7:44 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 4, 2013 at 7:44 a.m.

ORLANDO | Dontae Morris, accused of killing five men in 2010, including two Tampa police officers, is expected to appear in an Orange County courthouse Monday morning as jury selection begins for his first murder trial.

In a selection attempted in Hillsborough County last August, the pool was tainted by publicity and gossip. Circuit Judge William Fuente decided to look for jurors instead in Orlando, where people may not have been as exposed to the widely-chronicled manhunt for Morris.

In this first trial, Morris will answer to a charge of first degree murder in the shooting death of 42-year-old Rodney Jones during an attempted robbery outside the Cotton Club in West Tampa.

After Orlando jurors are selected, they will be transported to Tampa, where testimony was expected to begin next week.

Morris was captured after the biggest manhunt in Tampa history and charged with killing officers Jeffrey Kocab and David Curtis in a 2010 traffic stop. He was later charged with three other murders, including that of Jones.

Morris was being held in jail without bail and still awaits trial in the other murder cases.

<p>ORLANDO | Dontae Morris, accused of killing five men in 2010, including two Tampa police officers, is expected to appear in an Orange County courthouse Monday morning as jury selection begins for his first murder trial.</p><p>In a selection attempted in Hillsborough County last August, the pool was tainted by publicity and gossip. Circuit Judge William Fuente decided to look for jurors instead in Orlando, where people may not have been as exposed to the widely-chronicled manhunt for Morris.</p><p>In this first trial, Morris will answer to a charge of first degree murder in the shooting death of 42-year-old Rodney Jones during an attempted robbery outside the Cotton Club in West Tampa.</p><p>After Orlando jurors are selected, they will be transported to Tampa, where testimony was expected to begin next week.</p><p>Morris was captured after the biggest manhunt in Tampa history and charged with killing officers Jeffrey Kocab and David Curtis in a 2010 traffic stop. He was later charged with three other murders, including that of Jones.</p><p>Morris was being held in jail without bail and still awaits trial in the other murder cases.</p>